CONTROVERSIAL plans to build retirement flats beside a Hampshire station have been rejected after Network Rail branded the proposed development a potential safety hazard.

McCarthy & Stone submitted proposals to bulldoze the old Redmayne Engineering complex at Station Approach, Brockenhurst, and replace it with 24 apartments for older residents.

But Network Rail lodged an objection to the multi-million-pound scheme.

In a letter to the National Park Authority (NPA it said the site’s close proximity to a level crossing would create "a number of risks" to the railway.

It claimed that traffic-related “issues” on roads surrounding the station were likely to grow worse if the scheme were approved.

Network Rail also warned that the provision of retirement flats would increase the number of “vulnerable” people using the crossing.

Three years ago an 85-year-old woman accidentally drove along the railway for about 80 metres.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the New Milton grandmother was heading for the station car park when she veered off the crossing instead of turning into Station Approach.

Trains were halted while the shaken-up pair were rescued from their stranded car, which was later removed by crane.

The McCarthy & Stone scheme was rejected by the NPA’s planning and development control committee, largely on the grounds that it would result in the loss of an employment site.

Members added that the building’s “bulk” would prevent it blending in with its village-scale surroundings.

Brockenhurst Parish Council, the New Forest Association, a conservation group called Friends of Brockenhurst and the district council had joined Network Rail in objecting to the scheme.

A report to members said Redmayne Engineering was based there for decades before moving to a larger site in Lymington in 2012.

It added Station Approach was part of a built-up area, which meant a new business would have less impact there than elsewhere.

“Such sites are limited across the National Park and are essential to provide future employment opportunities,” said the report.

Officers quoted an objection submitted by Anthony Climpson, the district council’s employment and tourism officer.

He said: “The former Redmayne site represents one of the very last sites allocated for economic use within the development area of Brockenhurst.”

Retaining the site for business use would help prevent the village being “completely dominated” by housing, added Mr Climpson.

McCarthy & Stone said it was “extremely disappointed” with the NPA’s decision and planned to appeal.

A spokesman said: “Previous attempts to introduce employment uses on the site have failed, with no other interested parties in the pipeline.

“Our proposal offered the opportunity to address this by introducing a quality building in the heart of Brockenhurst.”